In a principal aspect, the present invention relates to a container or drain pan designed for placement beneath a vehicle for the collection of fluid, such as oil, drained from a crankcase, and for safe transport of that collected fluid.
Collecting fluids from a motor vehicle so that the fluid may be replaced is a common task performed by a mechanic or vehicle service person. A protocol for undertaking such a task, the vehicle is elevated upon a rack and an oil or fluid collection funnel assembly is positioned beneath the vehicle so that when the drain plug is removed, fluid will flow into the funnel collection device. However, many vehicles are so large and so heavy that elevating them on a rack becomes somewhat impractical. Thus, there has developed a protocol of removing the drain plug from beneath the standing vehicle while at the same time positioning a low profile collection pan under the vehicle so that fluid will flow or drain into the pan. Various prior art devices have been developed for such an undertaking including the device illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,246 issued Apr. 2, 1996 for a “Crankcase Oil Drain Pan”. Other such devices in the marketplace include an oil pan collection device offered by OTC Tools as OTC Product No. 5076 Transfer Tanker. The OTC device comprises a collection pan mounted on casters. The pan is generally rectangular and includes a wagon style handle at the front end for transport of the device. Another similar product is offered by Todd Enterprises of Cranston, R.I., and is identified as Todd “Low-Boy 17 Gallon Oil Drain”, Product No. 2400-34. John Dow Industries offers a similar product identified as a “17 Gallon Low-Profile Portable Oil Drain”, Product No. JDI-LP4. John Dow Industries offers a larger version of a similar product identified as “25 Gallon Low-Profile Portable Oil Drain”, Product No. JDI-LP5. Finally, John Dow Industries offers a smaller capacity device identified as “10 Gallon Low-Profile Portable Oil Drain”, Product No. JDI-AF10E.
Such prior art devices have a number of features in common. They are generally portable and move on rollers or casters so that they may be easily positioned beneath a vehicle such as a truck. Typically, they include some type of handle or mechanism to facilitate transport or movement of the device. Typically, the products include a means to effect draining of the product once the pan or container is filled with fluid collected from the vehicle. Finally, such products typically have a low profile so that they may be easily positioned or guided beneath a vehicle, particularly a large vehicle, such as a truck.
While such devices are useful, there has remained the need for an inexpensive, yet rugged and reliable drain pan construction which is portable and can be easily filled and then drained.